Looking at Slade who had a bright red face probably due to anger, Jason was trying to figure out the best decision. If all the villagers came, he wasn't sure if he could take them all on. Zahra on the other hand, just stood there, waiting for Jason to start his usual massacre. They were much stronger than they were two years ago, since they continued to hunt wild monsters and other beasts to improve their strength.

"Have you got the little brat?" a voice could be heard afar, followed by a couple dozen footsteps. It was the large group of villagers, who were definitely not here to help Jason and Zahra. One of the more rash villagers lashed out, shouting at Slade, "Just kill those devils already, they were never meant to be born!" Jason raised an eyebrow from that remark while Zahra just ignored it. To her, the villagers were all courting death trying to invoke the wrath of Jason.

But actually, Jason was a lot different than the cruel skeleton that slaughtered a whole castle of wolves, that was mainly because his thoughts were affected by Vepar's ego. Even when he enchanted the arrows, he made sure that the arrows all missed the vital spots. He was simply making sure that the kids learnt their lesson to not mess with Ela.

While the two sides were caught up in a stalemate, priest Aldway appeared, trying to calm the group down. "All the kids will be back to perfect condition in a few weeks," he said, trying to comfort the fuming villagers. "They have to pay for their sins," the rash villager, who was the blacksmith of the village shouted, pulling out a glistening sword. "The elder should make a decision like this," priest Aldway said, the cross around his neck lit up as a holy light enveloped the two. Realizing it was some sort of constraining magic, Jason was going to shatter the spell. But after some consideration, he still thought that there was a way to solve this peacefully. The holy light connected Zahra and Jason with Aldway, if they tried to run away, they will be instantly pulled back.

Aldway led the two towards the elder's house, which was located right in the middle of the village. Jason heard stories about the elder who had been in the village for hundreds of years before, tales about how he was once a powerful mage who wanted a peaceful life. Retired, he lived in the village, helping the villagers make important decisions. There were even rumors about how he was an omniscient sage, who knew every single secret the world has to offer. Of course Jason wouldn't believe this nonsense, but he was still quite intrigued about the elder's prowess. Since the elder rarely stepped foot outside his house, Jay had never actually met him in person.

Arriving in front of a well built brick house, Aldway respectfully knocked on the door. The hinges creaked as the door opened magically. Jason wanted to observe the runes carved on the door, but since there were currently too many eyes focused on him, he didn't want to reveal any secrets. Following Aldway inside the house, Jason and Zahra was quite impressed by the interior. The villagers waited outside silently, waiting for a result. Cauldrons, flasks, vials, and bookshelves full of grimores, the mage was definitely someone who was knowledgeable.

"What might be the problem?" an old raspy voice rang out from the stairs, as a old man in robes floated down. "Multiple kids were found heavily injured since someone enchanted their arrows, they are our current suspects," Aldway said, bowing his head with respect. Full of wrinkles, the elder observed Zahra and Jason. Once he saw Zahra's horns and Jason's wolf like features, a hint of disdain flashed over his face before quickly returning back to a kind and gentle expression.

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Leading them to a large table, the elder sat both of them down. Taking out a small pouch, the elder pulled out a crystal ball. "Pouch of holding," Jason thought, recognizing the small pouch. With space runes sewed on special leather, these bags could hold a lot of stuff. However, they were quite expensive, so only the best adventurers or the richest merchants could afford one. Jason had tried to craft one with wolf leather, but unfortunately, the wolf leather couldn't withstand the power of the space runes.

"Put your hand on the orb young lady," the elder said, pushing the orb fowards. Jason barely contained his laughter after recognizing the crystal ball. The orb was simply a Telepathy orb, a common gadget that could detect and display the emotions of the user. Back in his day, they used the orbs to teach amateur mages to control their emotions in order to achieve a better success rate at casting more complex spells. "Do you know anything about the incident?" the elder asked Zahra, gazing right into her eyes. Zahra simply shook her head, the Telepathy ball displaying nothing.

Thinking that Zahra wasn't the culprit, the elder locked his eyes on Jason, who replied with a sly grin. "You are up," the elder said, pushing the crystal ball towards Jason. Putting his hands on the crystal ball, Jason smiled at the elder. Before the elder could ask anything, something weird happened. The crystal ball began to light up, first bright red, fading into green, the crystal began to change colors quickly, until the crystal ball simply cracked. Aldway, who was observing Jason, was shocked. He had seen the crystal ball work wonders before, turning yellow whenever the true culprit put their hands on the ball. Putting in his best surprised expression, Jason said, "What's wrong?" In reality, all he did was unleash the emotions of the souls he absorbed, overwhelming the Telepathy orb.

The elder couldn't hide his irritation, shouting at Jason with anger, "You destroyed my Orb of Revealing! An ancient treasure that is worth ten times more than your life!" Hearing the elder spout nonsense, Jason finally couldn't contain his laughter anymore. "Telepathy orbs are considered treasure?" he laughed, tears rolling down his face. "Telepathy orb? This treasure was found in the ancient ruins, you wouldn't have any idea what it is!" the elder said, thinking that Jason was just making stuff up in order to get out of trouble.

"This is the village's smartest man?" Jason mocked, as he swept the broken shards of glass onto the ground. Standing onto the desk, Jason stood eye level to the elder. Flickering flames lit up from Jason's eyes, scorching the mage's soul. "Fraud! Show your true form," Jason said, seeing right through the elder's facade. Screaming, the elder's skin began to melt, revealing a grotesque being underneath his skin. Like a lizard shedding it's skin, the outer layer of the old man completely fell off. "Ogre mage!" Aldway shouted, backing up. Ogre mages were orges who were born with the abilities to wield magic, also being much smaller in size.

"YOU BASTARD!" the ogre mage shouted, slamming his fists right into Jason. The ogre's monstrous strength sent Jason sailing through the air, smashing one of the shelves in half. Blood spilled from Jason's mouth, he struggled to get up. "I definitely don't have the abilities to fight an ogre mage," Jason said. "Back up," Aldway said, Zahra and Jason got behind his back. "Holy shield," Aldway casted, a glistening wall formed, blocking off the ogre. Seeing that Aldway was still willing to protect them, Jason was quite impressed. "Rage," the ogre casted, red mist began to pour out from his body. Delivering a couple of punches at the barrier, cracks began to form. "You kids look very tasty," the ogre said, licking his cracked and dry lips. "You look disgusting," Jason replied, the crooked teeth and warts that grew all over the ogre weren't the most desirable features.